It’s a Friday night and the boy you like just told you he would rather go to a party than spend quality time with you, and you’re too sad to get your pathetic butt up and make yourself look decent to go out. Your roommate and whole floor is already four shots deep and screaming down the halls, and all you want to do is curl up in a ball and die.
Sounds familiar? If you didn’t say yes, then you have exceptional luck or are in a huge state of denial, in which case you should probably do something about that.
So what is the answer to all these problems? Jump in the shower, put on some make up and heels, and get yourself out the door, or… the ice cream sitting in your fridge and the chocolate on your desk?
Ice cream and chocolate. Duh.
Oh Ben and Jerry, your two best friends on a sad day. That chocolate and marshmallow swirled together in a creamy world of deliciousness: hello, heaven. So instead of going out, you spend the night with a spoon and an ice cream container, in front of the TV most likely watching some soppy love movie, or my personal favorite, oogling over Christian Grey while reading Fifty Shades of Grey. If you’re a little less typical like my roommate, you stick to the National Geographic or the Discovery Channel…for some reason…
And then once you realize you have consumed the entire container of ice cream and gone for seconds on the chocolate bar, you now feel even more pathetic than before, and probably feel like one hundred pounds heavier; unless you are one of those girls with an insanely fast metabolism, and in that case, I hate you.
So why do we do this? Why do we punish ourselves for the pain others cause us? Here’s the deal: in general, people who are more anxious and focus on the negative of situations are usually more neurotic than the average person.
This neuroticism and anxiety can not only alter our mental state, making us feel uglier, less significant, less noticeable, but also alter our physiological state. When you are anxious, your body is searching for a way to stop this anxiety and options such as food seem like a great idea at the time. Therefore you reach for that candy bar or bag of chips because your body craves whatever can make it feel better.
But, this is only a temporary hold. And like most things that make us feel better in the moment, such as drinking, eating, smoking, kissing boys, indulging in something you know is not good for you, etc.; the long term effects of these choices can significantly affect your lifestyle and essentially create an ongoing pattern to your unhappiness.
You are unhappy, you eat food, you are happy, you are unhappy again, you eat more food, you are happy, you are unhappy again, and on, and on, and on.
Not only are these choices not healthy for you, but also create habits in your brain that whenever there is conflict or a problem, your automatic response is to reach for food, although you know you will regret this decision later.
The solution? Find other ways to cope, or just avoid boys in general (that’s what I do….well attempt to do). A lot of this neuroticism and anxiety can be helped by trying to think about the situation differently; focus on the positives.
Talk it out with your friends, call your mom (she probably is dying to speak to you anyways), go on a run, compulsively clean your room, write down everything about yourself you love; it sounds cheesy, but it could work. Don’t isolate yourself in your room and shove all that can fit into your mouth. That never works out.
I’m not saying that there are not occasional and appropriate times to pig out on some food; I am just saying that it should not be EVERY time, and it should not be the answer to whatever issue you are facing.
Do yourself and your body a favor. Don’t allow food to become “comfort” to you. Rely on your real friends (not Ben and Jerry) to make you feel better. Instead of sulking at home alone, get yourself in a sexy dress, slip on some stilettos, and get that hot bod out for the world to see.
And FYI: any boy who can’t see that you are beautiful doesn’t deserve you!